When fatigue, brain fog, weight changes, digestive symptoms, poor sleep or hormone concerns begin happening at the same time, treating each symptom separately may not provide the full picture.
At Synchronicity Health, functional medicine takes a broader approach. Somer Schreiber-Small, FNP-C, MSCP, ABAAHP, evaluates your symptoms, health history, medications, lifestyle, laboratory findings, and other clinical factors to identify patterns and possible contributors to how you are feeling.
Our focus includes thyroid health, gut and digestive health, metabolic health, hormone balance and persistent symptoms that may not fit neatly into one category.
You do not need to know which test, diagnosis or treatment you need before you contact us.
Talk with Somer about what has changed, what you have already tried and whether a functional medicine evaluation may be the right next step.
Somer Schreiber-Small, FNP-C, MSCP, ABAAHP
ABAAHP Diplomate | Certified BHRT Provider | Menopause Society Certified Practitioner | Nearly 30 Years in Clinical Medicine
MSN, Samuel Merritt University • Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner
The body’s systems do not operate independently.
Changes in thyroid function can affect energy, metabolism and bowel habits. Poor sleep can influence appetite, mood and metabolic health. Menopause can change sleep, body composition and how a woman feels day to day. Digestive symptoms may be influenced by diet, medications, gastrointestinal disorders and other health conditions.
The purpose of functional medicine is not to assume that one hidden problem explains every symptom.
It is to ask a more useful question:
What factors could be contributing, and how might they be connected?
At Synchronicity Health, that means looking beyond one symptom or one isolated laboratory value while still using evidence-based medical evaluation to determine what deserves attention.
Functional medicine may be worth considering when several symptoms seem to overlap or when you know you do not feel well but are unsure where to begin.
Patients may come to Synchronicity experiencing fatigue, brain fog, unexplained or stubborn weight changes, bloating, constipation or changes in bowel habits, poor sleep, temperature sensitivity, hormone-related symptoms, changes in mood or motivation, difficulty maintaining muscle, or simply a persistent sense that something has changed.
None of these symptoms automatically point to a single diagnosis.
That is exactly why a broader evaluation can be useful.
The thyroid plays an important role in metabolism, energy use, temperature regulation and normal function throughout the body.
When thyroid hormone levels are too low, symptoms can include fatigue, feeling cold, constipation, dry skin, changes in mood or memory and other nonspecific complaints. But these symptoms can also occur with menopause, sleep problems, nutritional deficiencies, medication effects and other health conditions. A blood test is necessary to determine whether thyroid dysfunction is actually present.
That overlap is why thyroid health fits naturally within a broader functional medicine evaluation.
Thyroid testing should be selected according to the clinical situation rather than assuming every patient needs the same panel.
TSH is generally the primary initial test used to evaluate thyroid function. Free T4 can provide additional information about circulating thyroid hormone, while other thyroid studies may be useful in specific circumstances.
At Synchronicity Health, thyroid evaluation may consider your symptoms, previous laboratory results, medications and supplements, medical history and additional testing when clinically indicated.
The question is not simply:
“Is my thyroid number normal?”
It is:
“Does the complete clinical picture suggest a thyroid problem, another explanation, or more than one contributing factor?”
Fatigue, difficulty concentrating, weight changes, poor sleep and changes in mood are not unique to thyroid disorders.
Similar symptoms may occur during perimenopause and menopause, with testosterone deficiency, anemia or nutrient deficiencies, metabolic conditions, sleep disorders and other medical problems.
That makes differential evaluation particularly important.
Women experiencing overlapping menopause and hormone symptoms can also explore:
Your digestive system can provide important information about your overall health, but “gut health” should mean more than selling probiotics or assuming every symptom is caused by the microbiome.
Bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, reflux and changes in bowel habits can have many potential explanations.
For example, chronic digestive symptoms may be associated with conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome or functional dyspepsia, while constipation can also be influenced by medications, diet, hydration, activity, diabetes, hypothyroidism and other medical conditions.
That means the first step is understanding the pattern.
A functional medicine evaluation may consider when your digestive symptoms began, how frequently they occur, whether they change with certain foods, your bowel patterns, medications and supplements, previous diagnoses or testing, dietary habits and other symptoms occurring at the same time.
Testing may be considered when clinically appropriate rather than performed simply because someone has digestive symptoms.
The objective is to determine whether the symptoms point toward a gastrointestinal disorder, nutrition issue, medication effect, metabolic or hormonal contributor, or something that requires evaluation by a gastroenterology specialist.
Persistent digestive symptoms accompanied by warning signs such as gastrointestinal bleeding, unexplained weight loss, severe or persistent abdominal pain, repeated vomiting or other concerning changes require appropriate medical evaluation.
Metabolic health affects far more than body weight.
Blood sugar regulation, lipid levels, body composition, muscle mass, nutrition, sleep, activity and hormonal changes can all influence how someone feels and how easily they gain or lose weight.
This becomes particularly important when someone experiences several changes together:
Weight becomes harder to control.
Abdominal fat increases.
Energy falls.
Muscle mass or strength decreases.
Sleep becomes worse.
Hunger or cravings change.
Traditional dieting becomes less effective.
These concerns may require a different approach than simply prescribing a lower calorie diet.
At Synchronicity Health, functional medicine and medical weight management can work together when appropriate so that weight is considered alongside metabolic health, hormones and body composition.
One reason thyroid and digestive health belong on the same functional-medicine page is that symptoms can cross systems.
Hypothyroidism, for example, can contribute to constipation.
A patient might therefore arrive thinking:
“I have a gut problem.”
Another might think:
“My thyroid must be off.”
Another may assume everything is related to menopause.
The role of a comprehensive evaluation is not to confirm the patient’s first theory.
It is to determine what actually deserves investigation.
Hormonal symptoms rarely occur in a vacuum. A woman entering perimenopause may experience sleep disruption, brain fog, changes in body composition and mood at the same time. A man with symptoms associated with low testosterone may also be dealing with poor sleep, obesity, medications or metabolic conditions. Someone struggling with weight may also have concerns involving thyroid function, menopause or muscle loss. Functional medicine provides a way to evaluate those intersections without assuming that every symptom requires hormone therapy.
When hormone treatment is appropriate, Synchronicity can provide that care within the same broader clinical picture.
Fatigue and brain fog are among the most frustrating symptoms because they can be real, disruptive and extremely nonspecific.
They may occur alongside:
Thyroid dysfunction, hormone changes, poor sleep, anemia or nutrient deficiencies, medication effects, metabolic problems, chronic stress and other medical conditions.
The objective should not be to choose the most fashionable explanation.
It should be to systematically narrow the possibilities.
This is where Synchronicity’s broader evaluation model becomes useful.
Instead of starting with:
“What supplement treats fatigue?”
we start with:
“What could be contributing to this patient’s fatigue?”
That is a much more clinically meaningful question.
Laboratory testing can provide valuable information, but more testing does not automatically mean better medicine.
The appropriate tests depend on your symptoms, medical history, medications, previous results and clinical concerns.
Depending on the individual, evaluation may include information related to thyroid function, blood counts, metabolic health, glucose regulation, lipids, nutritional status, hormone health and other relevant biomarkers.
Synchronicity Health may evaluate 55+ biomarkers when clinically appropriate, allowing Somer to look at patterns across multiple areas of health rather than interpreting one laboratory value in isolation.
Laboratory results are then considered alongside how you actually feel.
That distinction matters.
A laboratory reference range is information.
It is not the entire patient.
Somer reviews what you are experiencing, when it began, what has changed, your medical history, medications, supplements, previous diagnoses, previous testing and what you have already tried.
Appropriate laboratory testing and other clinical information are used to investigate the areas most likely to explain or contribute to your symptoms. Testing is guided by your clinical picture rather than ordering every available test for every patient.
The next step is looking for relationships among symptoms, history and objective findings.
✔ Is there evidence of thyroid dysfunction?
✔ Are hormone changes contributing?
✔ Is metabolic health part of the problem?
✔ Do digestive symptoms need additional evaluation?
✔ Could medication, nutrition, sleep or another factor be contributing?
Your plan depends on what the evaluation finds. Recommendations may include nutrition and lifestyle changes, appropriate supplements, prescription treatment, hormone therapy, medical weight management, additional testing or referral to another specialist when necessary. The treatment follows the findings, rather than forcing every patient into the same protocol.
Midlife is often when several health changes begin appearing at once.
A person may notice that sleep is different, weight behaves differently, recovery takes longer, digestion changes, energy declines or symptoms appear that were never a problem before.
For women, these changes can overlap significantly with perimenopause and menopause.
For men, aging, metabolic health, sleep and testosterone may all become part of the conversation.
This makes midlife health particularly well suited to Synchronicity’s combined expertise in functional medicine, hormone health and medical weight management.
Instead of asking you to choose one of those categories yourself, we can begin with what you are experiencing.
Functional medicine does not replace appropriate primary care, emergency care, cancer screening or specialist care.
The difference is primarily in the scope and depth of the evaluation.
Functional medicine often spends more time exploring the relationships among symptoms, lifestyle, nutrition, hormones, metabolism and other health factors, particularly when several concerns overlap.
Synchronicity Health can also coordinate functional medicine with hormone therapy, weight management and other care when appropriate.
Functional medicine identifies and addresses the root physiological causes of chronic illness through advanced biochemical and lifestyle diagnostics, whereas conventional medicine primarily focuses on diagnosing end-stage disease codes and symptom management with pharmaceuticals. Practitioners evaluate dynamic “optimal” functional reference ranges rather than broad standard lab averages to resolve chronic dysfunction early.
A comprehensive 90-minute initial Functional Medicine consultation at Synchronicity Health is $400, and advanced diagnostic functional lab panels start at $400. Direct Primary Care (DPC) memberships can also be integrated starting at $149 per month for unrestricted day-to-day medical access.
Synchronicity Health specializes in treating complex, systemic conditions including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, gut microbiome dysbiosis (SIBO, IBS, leaky gut), chronic fatigue syndrome, mold/mycotoxin toxicity, systemic inflammation, autoimmune disease, micronutrient deficiencies, and hormonal conditions like PCOS and fertility challenges.
Functional medicine utilizes specialized diagnostic testing, including comprehensive stool analysis (GI-MAP DNA testing), full thyroid panels (Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, TPO/Tg antibodies), organic acid tests (OAT), urinary mycotoxin assays, and intracellular micronutrient evaluations. These functional panels detect subclinical gut pathogens, toxic mold metabolites, and cellular mitochondrial dysfunction invisible on standard routine blood work.
Yes, patients can pair root-cause functional wellness with a Direct Primary Care (DPC) membership starting at $149 per month for accessible, unhurried primary medical access. This hybrid model allows members to receive both long-term functional health optimization and acute everyday primary care without commercial insurance barriers.
Synchronicity Health is a direct-pay specialty practice that does not contract directly with commercial insurance providers, allowing clinicians to spend an entire 90 minutes with patients rather than insurance-dictated 10-minute blocks. Patients may request detailed itemized superbills for potential out-of-network reimbursement, and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) can be used for consultations, lab tests, and clinical protocols.
If you are searching for a functional medicine provider in Sacramento because you are struggling with thyroid concerns, gut symptoms, fatigue, brain fog, weight changes, hormone symptoms or several concerns at once, you do not have to diagnose yourself before asking for help.
Start with what has changed.
Somer can help determine what deserves further evaluation and whether Synchronicity Health is the right place to begin.
Schedule a complimentary 15-minute call with Somer to discuss your symptoms, concerns and goals.
